iobridge
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ioBridge used for web-based water metering, shiatsu massage
The ioBridge I/O module -- is there anything it can't do? We've seen this plucky little device used for firing makeshift weaponry, pouring brewskis, and even charting electricity use (by far the most useful / least exciting of the lot). And now? Mr. "Power Meter" is back with a project that'll help you further keep tabs on your utility bills. Hit the read link for a step-by-step on how to: install a meter on your home's incoming water line, connect that to your favorite ioBridge module, and track your water consumption via the free ioBridge web service. Sound like a fun weekend project? Hit that read link to get started.[Via Instructables]
Remote control airsoft gun MacGyvered out of Wiimote, ioBridge, and Construx
It's the weekend, folks, and you know what that means -- time to blow off a little steam. By way of example, the folks that brought us that Wiimote coil gun a while back have returned to the scene with a little something they like to call OfficeDefender. Using the very same servo and ioBridge module as the last time, this hack finds the gun replaced with a Beretta 9mm replica airsoft gun. Also note the nice use of Construx in a non-beer or iPhone related context. If that weren't enough, this bad boy has a full-auto mode, moves 180 degrees horizontally, can be sighted with the head-mounted webcam and fired via Wiimote. We're not telling you that you can use this to hassle folks in the office come Monday, but you totally could. Videos after the break.[Via Engadget German]
Student charts electrical usage in real-time, much to Big Brother's delight
It's our best guess that University of Florida PhD student Jason Winters woke up at 10:00AM ET this morning and took an approximately 18-minute shower. How did we come to this conclusion? Using an AC clamp attached to an ioBridge, the biomedical engineering scholar measures the main electrical lines entering his house and sends the data to a Google charts widget on his personal blog that reports the kilowatt-hour usage in real time. As a footnote, he presents an example graph of when the hot water is turned on, which then produces close to 4500 watts. That's just over the amount of power he used this morning for about 1100 seconds. Of course, we can't say for certain any of these morning events really transpired, but then again, we don't exactly want to know. Hit up the read links for directions on DIYing this.
Wiimote + pens + coffee cup + office putting toy = deadly coil gun turret
Inside a mild-mannered toy golf cup, the kind that pop the ball back at you when you sink a putt (and make you go walk for it when you miss), lurks a lethal weapon -- a tiny rail gun just waiting to serve. Modder Jay took one of those induction coils to build himself a small but fierce turret, also using a little inspiration from the Serv O'Beer, an ioBridge module, two ballpoint pens, two wooden spoons, a coffee mug, and -- the pièce de résistance -- a Wiimote liberated from someone's console. By twisting the controller left or right the weapon rotates accordingly, honing in on threatening textbooks and launching a screwdriver bit with deadly force. Alas, you can't fire the turret by pressing a button on the controller, but that's said to be entirely for safety reasons -- we wouldn't want some poor kid trying to play a little My Horse & Me and accidentally shooting themselves in the back. Update: Jay commented to let us know that he's posted the source, meaning making your lethal weapon is that much easier -- and open! [Via Make]
Serv O'Beer pours when iPhone accelerometer tells it to
Now that the holiday season is officially over (CES notwithstanding), there's officially no better time to get inebriated and wash away the sorrows of not having another government-recognized holiday for like, ever. After you've drug that dead tree out to the roadside and filled a few buckets with tears, why not try constructing your very Serv O'Beer in order to bring just a sliver of that joy back into your heart? Put simply, the project pictured above utilized Construx as the mechanical platform, a servo driving the action and ioBridge controlling the system; a so-called "perfect pour" was executed by linking an iPhone accelerometer to the system and turning it up. Have a look at the demonstration vid just past the break -- dollars to donuts it'll make you smile. [Thanks, Hans]
